Google Slashes Drive Storage Prices, Targets Cloud Rivals

The 100GB Google Drive online storage plan, previously priced at $4.99 a month, is now just $1.99.

Watch out, Box and Dropbox. Google on Thursday announced it is slashing the prices of Drive monthly storage plans.

The 100GB plan, previously priced at $4.99 a month, is now just $1.99. If you opt for 1TB of storage, the savings are even greater. Previously priced at $49.99, the 1TB plan will now set you back a measly $9.99.

If you have a lot to store, there's also a 10TB plan, with the option of adding more space if you need it, starting at $99.99. 20TB costs $199.99 a month, while 30TB is $299.99. The standard 15GB Drive plan is still free.

In comparison, Dropbox offers 2GB of space for free, with extra storage starting at $9.99 a month for 100GB while Box gives you 10GB of free storage off the bat, and charges $5 a month for 100GB.

"Whether it's all the footage of your kids' baseball games, the novel you're working on, or even just your grocery list for the week, we all have files that are too important to lose," Google Drive's Director of Product Management, Scott Johnston, wrote in a blog post Thursday. "Today, thanks to a number of recent infrastructure improvements, we're able to make it more affordable for you to keep everything safe and easy to reach on any device, from anywhere."

If you already pay for Drive storage, Google will automatically move you to a better plan at no additional cost, the company said. Newbies can sign up for one of the new plans on Google's website.

Google late last year made its cloud storage a little more convenient, letting users view attachments and save files to Drive right from Gmail.

Meanwhile, if you're looking to earn a little extra cash, Google earlier this week launched a new apps referral program that could fatten your wallet a bit. Simply refer someone to Google Apps for Business, and you'll receive $15 for every user who signs up based on you recommendation.

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism.
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